Members of the Manchester United squad feel they have been ‘misled’ by manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer over promises of more game time this season.
Donny van de Beek, Jesse Lingard, Anthony Martial, Eric Bailly, Juan Mata, Diogo Dalot, Alex Telles and Dean Henderson were among the players reassured over their roles in the team during the summer with Solskjaer conceding he had ‘overplayed’ others during the 2020-21 campaign, ESPN report.
The situation remains unchanged for many of those players this season, however. Van de Beek, who saw a move to Everton blocked by Solskjaer during the summer transfer window, has been handed just 16 minutes of Premier League action this term.
Lingard, who returned to Old Trafford with a number of clubs interested in his services after an excellent loan spell at West Ham United, has also struggled to for minutes.
While he has scored twice off the bench in the league, he has started just one game in all competitions this term.
Henderson has served as David de Gea’s understudy once again this season having shared first-team duties last year.
Bailly meanwhile was said to have openly challenged Solskjaer following his decision to pick Harry Maguire instead of him for the league meeting with Leicester City in October – despite the England international having just returned to training from a calf injury.
In several cases, Solskjaer’s assurances in the summer convinced players to put plans to leave United on hold.
There is now frustration among those who have remained on the fringes of the squad despite the poor run of results and disappointing performances from some first-team regulars.
Van de Beek is reportedly considering a move away from Old Trafford in January while Lingard is in the final year of his contract with no indication that a new deal will be signed.
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